The Korea Communications Commission Adopts Detailed Criteria for Determining Violations of the 'Google Gapjil Prevention Act'

'Status, Compulsoriness, and Unfairness in Transactions' etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Starting from the 15th, the government enforcement decree containing follow-up measures for the 'Google Fair Trade Act (Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act)' will be implemented, and the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has established detailed criteria for determining prohibited acts by application (app) market operators.

On the 10th, the KCC announced through a written meeting that it had approved the 'Standards for Determining Illegality of Prohibited Acts by App Market Operators (Notification)' containing these details. First, Articles 3 to 5 of the draft set detailed criteria for 'transactional status,' 'coerciveness,' and 'unfairness' to determine whether app market operators force a specific payment method.

Transactional status refers to the app market’s sales revenue and number of users, market conditions, the gap in business capabilities between the app market operator and mobile content providers, the characteristics of mobile content, and the degree of dependence of mobile content providers on the app market operator. Coerciveness is a criterion to judge whether mobile content providers are free to choose other payment methods or whether an objective situation arises that forces them to use a specific payment method. Unfairness is a criterion to assess whether the interests of mobile content providers are harmed, whether fair competition in the app market is hindered, and whether there is an effect of increasing user benefits.

Secondly, Articles 6 to 7 of the draft specify detailed criteria for 'unfairness' to determine whether there is an unjust delay or deletion of mobile content reviews. Unfairness is a criterion to judge the reasons for delays or deletions of mobile content reviews, whether similar or identical mobile content is provided, whether review and deletion standards are notified in advance, and the appropriateness of the notification method.

Chairman Han Sang-hyuk said, "After extensive discussions with stakeholders and experts, the enforcement decree on detailed types and standards of prohibited acts in app markets has been followed by the establishment of notification standards for determining illegality. We will strictly respond to illegal acts by app market operators who delay or circumvent compliance to create a fair app market ecosystem."

The approved draft notification is scheduled to be implemented from the 15th of this month, along with the 'Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act' related to the prohibition of forced in-app payments, after being published in the official gazette.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.